Farmhands
by EricaX
Summary: Set during the movie. While making a camp for the night, Dorothy ponders about the three men who her new friends remind her so much of. As Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion listen, Dorothy sees just how special Hunk, Hickory and Zeke are to her. Oneshot. R


The sky was starting to get darker and darker as the sun began to creep lower and lower. The rustling of the trees in the wind was all that could be heard, save for the occsaional chirp of a distant bird.

They weren't yet out of the dark and scary woods where they had stumbled upon their newest friend, the Cowardly Lion, but Dorothy knew, as she yawned largely, that they were almost out of the woods. She knew this simply because the trees were not as thick, and she could have sworn she saw a sea of pinks and reds earlier that day when they were climbing that large hill. She wasn't sure, but she thought they looked like some sort of flower.

After a long day of walking on the Yellow Brick Road, both Dorothy and Lion were getting tired. Tin Man was the one who suggested they camp out for the night so that they could sleep. Toto was sleeping in her lap; a full day of wagging his tail and sniffing the flowers they went by in the forest, tiring him out.

This was what they were now in the midst of doing. They stopped along the side of the Yellow Brick Road and with the help of Tin Man's axe, they made a fire out of some wood and thick branches. Scarecrow, Dorothy noted, seemed at ease, yet he would occasionaly give a cautious glance at the fire, even though he was sitting a fair distance away from it.

She felt bad for her friend, considering he was unable to sit so close to them in their little circle around the fire. He probably could, she continued to guess, but it would probably make her friend nervous.

Instead she was leaning up against Lion, who was half asleep as he sat against a large old tree. He was playing with his tail, his eyes jerking from his tail towards the woods every time he heard a twig snap or a russle in the bushes. He looked sleepy, even though he was so scared. But maybe that was only because of the great purple circles under his eyes that always made him look sleepy.

Tin Man was the only one standing; not finding a need to sit. He was staring off into space, which made Dorothy wonder what he was thinking about. She couldn't come close to guessing, but she could tell that whatever he was thinking was making him happy, for he had the tiniest of smiles on his metalic face. Every now and then he would switch hands in holding his axe or shift his feet a bit before going back to staring off into space.

The silence that surrounded the tiny fire was a peacful one, until the sound of Scarecrow's cheery voice interupted it with a question. "Dorothy, before you said that you believed you knew us before we had actually met. I'm sorry, but I've been curious about that ever since and, well, can you remember now what you meant?"

Dorothy regarded Scarecrow with a smile, but it turned into a look of concentration as she worked hard to remember.

"Well" she began. "Back home in Kansas...I just remember knowing people who were a lot like you..." She looked at Lion, who was looking at her sleepily. "Such as you, for example, Lion. I remember knowing someone who I believed to be truly brave, but ended up getting scared easily once when I was playing around the hog pen."

Lion shifted a bit in his spot and yawned. Dorothy, who was leaning a bit into the side of his arm, moved a bit as well. "Well...maybe you were just...dreamin' and you dreamt of me bein' a great big coward..." His voice held self pity and depression. Dorothy shook her head.

"No...I don't think that's it..." she argued. "For he did save me. He just, was scared of it afterwards..."

"You mean, he was scared **after** it happened and not before? What did he do to save you?" Lion appeared more awake and more interested now.

Dorothy wracked her brain to try and remember. It was all slowly coming back to her. "Wel, I was talking to him. As I was, I climbed up on the fence of the pen and walked along it. I had before and I thought nothing of falling. But my foot caught and I did fall. I cried out for help and the next thing I knew I was in Zeke's arms." she explained.

A moment of silence passed.

"Zeke?" inquired Tin Man. "Was that his name?"

Dorothy blinked. "Yes! That **is** his name! Zeke! Oh, he was **so** nice to me..." Dorothy was now thinking hard again. "He always used to tell me to be strong and never to be afraid."

Lion flicked his tail back and forth a few times before saying: "And so this man reminds you of me?" His voice held disbelief. Dorothy smiled at him and gave him a side hug.

"Yes, he does" she replied.

"You see, Lion. Simply because you consider yourself a coward, we think of you to be brave" smiled Scarecrow.

Lion turned his head towards his other friend, a look of shock on his face. "If you say so..."

Tin Man shifted once more as silence once again filled their little campsite. Lion looked up at him, his eyes filled with sleep. "You know, if I wasn't so sleepy, I'd say you were a statue Tin Man..." he mumbled. Tin Man cocked his head to one side, registering what he was just told.

This made Dorothy squint in concentration as she looked at Tin Man.

_"Someday they're going to errect a statue of me in this town!" _cried a voice in Dorothy's mind. _"Well, don't start posing for it now!!"_ Dorothy's eyes widened as she remembered her aunt Em saying those words. She remembered someone laughing afterwards. Her memory was finally allowing her to remember.

"Hickory!!" she cried, pointing up at a, now flabbergasted, Tin Man.

"What?" asked Tin Man.

"I remember who **you** remind me of!" she continued to cry happily.

Tin Man smiled, seemingly pleased that she could think of whoever the man was who seemed so much like himself to remind Dorothy of him. "Oh?" he asked. "What's he like?"

"Very sweet. Just like Zeke. They always gave me advice and made her feel better whenever I was upset or lonely" she explained.

Scarecrow was unnaturally quiet. Usually whenever Dorothy told them stories like this one, he seemed fascinated and wanted to hear her every word. But now, he seemed a little disapointed in her story.

Dorothy continued. "I remember the day before I came here to Oz in my house. I went to school, just like normal. This girl named Ginger was picking on me as usual; something about wishing she had my dress. I came home just like normal, and Toto was with me. He always is..." She took a brief moment to pet Toto, who was still dozing on her lap. "And then...Toto went into Ms. Gulch's garden and chased her cat. That made Ms. Gulch so angry. I had to run home after I grabbed Toto, having to listen to Ms. Gulch yell. She had tried to hit Toto!"

Her three friends gave her a sympathetic look. Tin Man shifted once more and Lion rubbed his eyes, not wanting to fall asleep until Dorothy did. He knew he was cowardly, but he didn't want to appear like a sleepy coward.

Dorothy smiled as she stared into the grass. "I went to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry for help but they were busy. So, I went to Hunk."

Scarecrow's interest was now peaked again at the mention of this new person. Dorothy saw this and looked at him, smiling. "I told him what happened and he asked me, 'Look, Dorothy, you're not using your head about Ms. Gulch. It's like you've got no brains at all!'" she told them.

Scarecrow looked at her with wide eyes, then a large grin appeared on his face. "I can see why you think of him when you're with me."

Dorothy nodded. "I see all three of them in you three. And that is why I said it's like I've met you before. It's because all three of you are similar to those I've already met."

Tin Man lifted his axe over his shoulder and said, "Well, Dorothy, maybe that's because you miss them so much. Because they're so important to you."

Scarecrow and Lion nodded at this. "You think so?" asked Dorothy.

Tin Man nodded and said: "But you also need to know Dorothy, that even though we are a lot like them, we're not. We're your new friends that you met who are willing to help you on your journey."

Scarecrow nodded, finally getting up with a clumsy gesture and moving closer to them, depsite his fear of the fire. "We'll always be your friends, Dorothy, no matter what. And see you get to the wizard safe, no matter what. We'll get you home."

Lion yawned. "Even if it means...I hafta...be a coward for the...rest of my days..." His voice was so sleepy, it took him a long time to say his setence. Dorothy snuggled up next to Lion after he said these words.

"Oh, you three are the greatest friens I could ever have" she giggled.

"Now, I'm not sure about this, but I think its best you get to sleep Dorothy. You need your rest for tommorrow. I have a feeling we're not too far from the Emerald City" he suggested and grabbed her basket which was sitting clear on the other side of her and took out an apple. He then handed it to her. "Go on. Eat and then go to sleep. I hear it's hard for you to sleep on an empty stomach."

Dorothy took the apple and took it from him. Scarecrow placed the basket back and then moved back to his place a ways back from the camp's circle, his eyes falling back fearfully at the fire. Tin Man went back to his staring into space while Lion finally dozed off. Dorothy glanced around at her friends as she finished her apple, wishing this peaceful moment would never end. She rested her head on Lion's shoulder and was in a deep sleep within minutes; a smile on her lips.


End file.
